The perception of care for women living in inner cities with newly diagnosed, early-stage breast cancer is dependent, in large part, on factors other than the actual quality of care provided, including the quality of the process of getting care, trust in the physician, and perceptions of racism, according to research published online April 9 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. In an effort to identify key predictors of women's perceived quality of breast cancer care, Nina A. Bickell, M.D., M.P.H., of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and colleagues conducted a descriptive cohort study of 374 women living in inner city areas with newly diagnosed and surgically treated early-stage breast cancer. "In this study, women's perceived quality of care was not associated with national metrics of good-quality breast cancer care. The processes of getting care, gaining physician trust, and patients' perceived racism independently predicted excellent ratings for quality of care," said Dr. Bickell. Learn more